


some kind of love

by neganricks



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombies, Angst with a Happy Ending, Baby Sophie, Bisexual Rick Grimes, Domestic Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Life As We Know It AU, M/M, Minor Character Death, POV Rick, Slow Burn (kinda), baker rick, based on the movie : life as we know it, jealous Negan, tattoo artist negan, two men and a baby
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-02 17:12:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16309325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neganricks/pseuds/neganricks
Summary: There are only two things that Rick and Negan have in common; their dislike for one another and their love for their Goddaughter. It's only when they unexpectedly become her legal guardians that they must put their differences aside and figure out how care for an infant.{based on the movie Life as we know it}





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> hi!

Rick re-fastened the buttons on his shirt and starred back at himself in the mirror. This had been his fifth outfit change in under twenty minutes, which he figured was the downside of dating for the first time since breaking up with an ex. Especially when you and said ex broke up five years ago and you are now stuck at the age of thirty unsure how a blind date works and if jeans and a button up are acceptable. For Rick, he and Lori had been high school sweethearts, married straight out of college and lasted until the age of twenty five. There wasn't a particular reason why their relationship ended, instead it was a number of factors that contributed to the final outburst which saw Lori packing up all her belongings one night and announcing she was going back to New York to stay with her parents.

Rick had been in the law force in his early twenties, possibly working his way up to sheriff when he was shot in action. He wouldn't lie and say it didn't put a strain on his relationship, it had taken him months to recover and even after he was physically fixed, the mental side of recovery wasn't the same. It had taken Rick heading back into the station after his recovery and his and Lori's break up to realize that that career was no longer what he wanted. Sure, he didn't quit his officer job that day with a clear idea in his head what he wanted to do, in fact it had taken him another year to finally realize that opening up his own business was something that really interested him and that only came around because he had been in and around Atlanta and noticed a sign post for a property being sold that was in his price range. That had been the turning point, he had gotten over heartbreak by putting everything he had into the bakery. Sure, it had been a lot of blood, sweat, and tears and sleepless nights that were only helped with support from friends.

Now, however, Rick was a nervous wreck as he starred at the clock on his apartments wall while knowing that his 'date' was fifteen minutes late to pick him up. Rick hadn't wanted to even go on this outing in the first place, used to single life and pretty happy that way, thank you very much. But, his closest friends, Daryl and Beth had pushed them into it and had even picked the guy- who apparently was a friend of Daryl and Beth and was "really cool, trust me Rick, you'd look great together." So, Rick not wanting to disappoint either one of his happily married friends had accepted without even seeing his 'Negans' face. He just hoped the guy had black hair, Rick really did like black hair.

His phone buzzed in his back pocket and he reached in, half expecting a text off Negan cancelling the date. Instead, it was a text from Beth which read  _how is it going? !!!!! keep us updated._

Mentally, he rolled his eyes as he replied with a quick  _your friend is late_ and restrained from using an angry face emoji before sending it. He was just about ready to give up and change into his favorites sweats and watch some stupid rom com that ends up annoying him- when the doorbell rang and all over again he was a nervous mess ready to run to the nearest window and make his great escape. 

The guy was attractive, all legs, beard and  _yes,_ black hair wearing black skinny jeans, combat boots and a signature leather jacket. The taller man smirked and looked at Rick up and down before nodding, "Do you have a lighter?" Rick had expected an introduction,  _you know,_ the polite thing to do when meeting somebody for the first time, but nope, the guy wanted a lighter. Rick had to take a minute to think how the hell this guy was friends with a couple as sweet as Daryl and Beth. 

"No...I don't smoke." Rick mumbled out, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as he did. "Sorry." 

Negan shrugged, as if he was saying  _oh well_ before continuing, "So, where do you wanna go?" which was so romantic. 

Rick starred back at him, kinda hoping that the guy was about to burst out laughing and announce he was kidding. Which never happened. "Uh, there's a pizzeria close by?" Negan seemed to accept that as without any further words he was already heading towards the elevator in Rick's apartment building and glancing over his shoulder as he reached it, as if he was saying  _well are you coming?_ And oh, he was a delight. Rick took a deep breath, because, damn he's gonna need it, and followed the man out of the apartment. 

 

"You're kidding right?" Rick starred at the motorbike that Negan was stood in front of. He should have put two and two together, of course Negan drove a motorbike, he was basically the definition of a human biker; tattoos, facial hair, long legs and leather. But that didn't mean Rick was about to get on the back of that thing. No way. "Can't we just take my car?" 

Negan glanced over to Rick's- okay, pretty small car- and chuckled. "You think i'm gonna fit in there? We're taking the bike- here, even got you your own helmet." He man smiled before throwing a helmet in Rick's direction, which the man only managed to catch. 

Rick had been ready to talk himself into getting on the bike when Negan's phone rang and the man fished into his pocket to pull it out, he glanced at Rick quickly before turning his back and taking the call. "Well, hello stranger." Now that was for sure a flirty voice, there was no question about it. Negan was on the phone right in front of Rick, flirting with somebody. He couldn't decide if he should do a runner or throw the helmet at the guy. Do Maggie and Glenn not like him anymore or something? Did he do something to hurt them? Why did they do this to him? The final straw was when Negan kindly announced to the person on the other end of the line that they can meet up once he's 'finished here'. 

Rick tapped him on the shoulder, smiling tightly, he passed the helmet to Negan before spinning around and silently walking away. "Hey!" he heard the man call out to him and Rick just looked over his shoulder in time to see Negan quickly shoving his phone in his pocket and looking highly confused. "Where are you going? I thought we were going for chinese food?" 

Rick half growled, "You werent even listening! I said pizza!" he rolled his eyes, "Forget about it. You've clearly got better things to do." He walked away, hearing no protest from Negan which spoke a thousand words. Beth was about to get a mouthful for setting him up with this complete creep.

 

He was going to make sure he never saw him again. 

 

_one year later  (Sophie 4 weeks old)_

"And now, the Godparents!" The priest announced, turning around with the small bundle of joy in his arms which he passed to Rick, who was stood the closest by. Rick grinned, looking down at the tiny baby that was pressed against his chest. A tiny mixture of Beth and Daryl and Rick's Goddaughter, she was unbelievably adore- little Kasey. When Beth and Daryl had asked Rick to be one half of her Godparent, he had been terrified, but overjoyed and of course accepted. 

Until, he had found out who the second Godparent was. 

"Don't hog her!" Negan grumbled as he leaned over Rick's smaller form and stroked the cheek of his Goddaughter. Of course, Beth and Daryl had to continue hurting Rick by keeping Negan permanently in his life. Because after that awful date, he had planned to ignore that man for the rest of his life until Beth and Daryl had announced they were expecting and they wanted both Negan and Rick to be Godparents. So here he was, stood in the Church with Negan on his left with the unfortunate fact that he now had something in common with this man forever. 

"You know.." Negan whispered, "You look good in a suit, Grimes." Half way through the service. 

 "Stop it." Rick snapped as Negan placed a hand on his waist, "I mean it, i will break your hand." 

Negan chuckled and snapped his hand back, grinning as he did. "Whatever you say, Grimes." 

 

_(sophie aged 1)_

_"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Sophie, happy birthday to you!"_ the whole room sang along as the little girl sat in her high chair with a wide grin plastered across her face. She was adorable, tiny pigtails and bright blue eyes that were to die for. A whole year old and still the greatest kid to ever grace the Earth, at least that was coming from a biased Godparent who adored her. 

"She's cute, right?" Negan said as he came and stood beside Rick, a beer bottle in a hand and a slice of cake in the other. Rick watched with curiosity as the man attempted to balance both objects. "Can't believe something that cute came from Daryl and Beth, crazy." 

Rick rolled his eyes, "Yeah, and i still can't believe they asked someone like you to be her Godparent." 

Negan quickly placed both cake and beer on the table and placed a hand against his heart, gasping to add to the drama. "You wounded me." he knocked their shoulders together. "And just when i thought we had something-" 

"Rick! Negan,come here-" Beth called over, breaking up the argument that was evidently brewing between them. "Sophie wants a picture with her Godparents." 

Negan shot Rick a toothy grin, "C'mon, Grimes. Our little princess wants us." and Rick followed, because of course, he would do anything for Sophie. Even if it meant getting an action shot picture with Negan with little Sophie sat between them as if they were a happy little family.

 

 

Another year passed quickly, which had been spent most at the bakery, the rest of the time third wheeling Daryl and Beth while trying to avoid Negan. And those unfortunate times he couldn't escape Negan, like the most recent time at Sophie's second birthday gathering he was once again reminded why he and the tattoo artist never got along and why their date failed. Negan spent the year with little change, drinking, partying and having a series of meaningless flings that would be forgotten about the following week. Typically, their lives were separate- the only thing keeping them connected was Sophie. 

"Hey, Rick... Isn't it?" Rick glanced up from where he had been cleaning the counter to be faced with a blonde haired women who had just broken him from his own thoughts. She smiled as she continued, "I'm Jesse..you know the doctor." It took Rick only a few seconds to remember who Jesse was, only a couple of months ago Rick had offered to take Sophie to her annual check up at the doctors and there he had met Jesse. She had been so great with Sophie that Rick had instantly liked her, an interest he hadn't had since his breakup with Lori. 

"Oh..." he paused, his awkwardness apart.  _How the hell do people do this in day to day life?_ "Yeah, nice to see you again, uh- Jesse." 

Thankfully, she did not look off put at his nervousness instead she nodded towards one of the cupcakes that were on display. "I'm impressed, i've been looking forward to stopping by here sometime. Just never got the chance..."  _is this hinting?_ Because, Rick would happily ask this women on a date if he knew that she would say yes. The thought of being rejected would probably stop Rick from attempting to date for an extra ten years and he doesn't know if he can handle another blind date set up by Daryl and Beth. "I'm gonna be honest, i stopped by to give you my number.." 

"Y-you did?"  _pull yourself together,_ he couldn't help thinking that he could be compared to a teenager dating for the first time right now. And not somebody that had been in a long committed relationship. "That's great, i mean- i think you're great." 

She chuckled, before passing a small piece of paper over to him which did have her number written on. "You should, call me sometime." 

And then she was gone, shooting him once last smile before heading outside and Rick had to glance around the bakery to other customers that were waiting to be served to check that he didn't just imagine that. 

Once he got home he realized that the hardest part wasn't receiving the number but it was now what to put on the text, he had re-written a paragraph at least ten times that were no longer making sense to him that he had to put his phone down and regroup to avoid sending something totally stupid. It was 9pm now, dark outside and awful TV on that had him almost reaching out and calling Daryl to cure his boredom. Knowing Daryl, a parent of a two year old who was most definitely going through the stage of 'terrible twos' he would already be fast asleep and leaving Rick with little option but to watch a documentary on Netflix that involved little interest. 

It was an hour later when Rick woke up in front of the TV, something he would later regret when his neck ached from the position it had been placed in. His phone was ringing on the coffee table, Daryl's icon lit the screen up and he chuckled- there was probably an emergency that involved Rick having to babysit tomorrow or something that Rick needed to hear. He rubbed his eyes, leaning forward and pressing the green accept icon before holding it up to his ear, "What's happened Daryl? You need saving from that little terror?" he teased, heading towards the kitchen as he did, the light flickered reminding him he would need to get that replaced very soon. 

"Hey, Dar? You there?" he questioned, grabbing a handful of cereal as he did. Maybe Sophie had accidentally rang Rick, after all her favorite thing to do was to play with her dad's phone. 

"Hello, is this Mr Grimes." Rick paused, swallowing the remaining food in his mouth before clearing his throat. An unfamiliar voice on the other end of the phone, that was never comforting. 

"Uh..Yes, that's me." he replied quickly. "Who is this? Where is Daryl?" 

"You're down as Mr Dixon's emergency contact. Mr and Mrs Dixon have been involved in an accident and i'm going to need you to come down to the station now." Rick froze, silently praying that they would both be alive and well by the time he got to the station... "Please, they have a baby.. please tell me she wasn't with them. Is she hurt?" 

"No, Mr Grimes. The infant was with a babysitter at the time of the accident." 

Rick had rushed to the station, everything around him almost moving in slow motion as he locked his car and ran through the car park. He hadn't even registered that he was still dressed in his old sweats by the time he was pushing the two doors open and heading towards the front desk, breathless. "I'm Rick Grimes. I'm here for Daryl and Beth Dixon? Please let.. let me see them." 

The women looked panicked as she took in his worried form, she glanced towards the computer as if it would help but thankfully for both of them a voice spoke from behind them, "Mr Grimes?" Rick presumed that it had been the man who he had talked too on the phone that was stood there, in a full suit and speaking to him. "Follow me." 

"Ju-Just tell me. My friends, how are they? How bad is it?" Rick panicked, tears forming in his eyes. "Is it a coma? Who has Sophie? She'll be scared, bring her to me, she knows me.." 

The man placed a comforting hand on Rick's shoulder which got him to pause. "Mr Grimes, i'm really sorry. Mr and Mrs Dixon both died on the scene. It was a crash, collided with a truck and the death was instant..." the man continued, explaining what had happened and how it had happened but Rick blanked out- he stepped back and gasped for breath, his fingers threading through his curls and pulling because- his best friends were dead and their baby girl was all alone.  _He wanted Sophie_. 

He dropped onto the nearest chair, the officer leaving him for a few minutes and he allowed himself to cry. Daryl and Beth were gone, Sophie left behind. Two years old and without parents. He sobbed, head shoved into his hands as life carried on around him. A life that would now be lived without his best friends. 

He had no idea how long he had sat there, tears streaming down his face until he heard his name being called in the distance- " _Rick? Rick?"_ this time it wasn't Grimes, he glanced up, creating eye contact with a windswept Negan who stood in his famous leather jacket and motorbike helmet hooked under his right arm. "They called me, didn't tell me anything- what's happened?" the taller man knelt down so he was able to face Rick on level. Seeing the concern on Negan's face, no sarcasm, no teasing, just concern made Rick cry more-

"Daryl and Beth.. They're gone." and he was being pulled into a hug, Negan's long arms wrapping around him and he didn't protest. Rick latched onto the sides of Negan's leather jacket and cried, unsure how long they both stayed there for. 


	2. chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Negan face parenthood...together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are always appreciated :))

Rick shuffled against the blanket of the couch, almost forgetting that he was not in the comfort of his own bed but instead in the living room of Daryl and Beth's house with a sleeping Negan on the chair opposite. It had been late the time they had arrived here, both deciding that it would be best to set up camp down here rather than battle with the mess of the spare bedroom that Daryl had never gotten around to decorating or put themselves through the torture of staying in Daryl and Beth's bedroom.

Both men had spent hours down at the station, listening to a number of accounts that all had the same conclusion, half of the time had been spent trying to get the officers to bring Sophie to them. After all, Daryl and Beth had no family around here and therefore Rick and Negan were the closest thing she now had. Sophie had spent the night with a foster family, the officers making it clear that it was the best place for her to be while both Negan and Rick dealt with all the information.

At first, Rick had only wanted Sophie- after all she was the only thing keeping him connected to his friends, but after Negan ( _yes, who would have thought he would have been the understanding one of the pair?_ ) had persuaded Rick that they needed to go back and rest so they could see Sophie the next morning he had agreed. Negan shifted on the other side of the room, pulling on the blanket that was wrapped around his shoulders and Rick couldn't help watch as he starred back at the dark haired man that was for once without his leather jacket and combat boots but instead wore a pair of light blue underwear and a white cotton t-shirt- "What time is it?" Negan's voice was rough and Rick felt a blush rise upon his face as he realized that Negan had woke to him starring. 

"8am." He answered after glancing at the clock on the wall, he couldn't help notice a photo frame containing a picture of Daryl and Beth on their wedding day sat beside it. He paled. "They said they'd bring Sophie to see us around about now-" He looked around at the messy living room, evidently neither Beth or Daryl had the time to clean the morning before with them both rushing around to get each other ready and Sophie before dropping her off with a sitter and going to work. Sophie's toys were scattered around the room, there was even a half drunk cup of black coffee that Rick automatically knew was Daryl's and beside it was a glass of orange juice that was still stained with Beth's lipstick mark. "I'm going to shower before they do." 

"I think i'll take you up on that offer." Negan agreed as he stood up and stretched, the bone in his back clicking as he did. He sighed in contentment before pausing at the frown Rick was shooting him. "I meant- separately. Don't worry Grimes, no flirty remarks today." 

Rick nodded as if he accepted that as an answer and headed upstairs, guessing Negan could get washed up in the downstairs bathroom. He was in and out of the shower within minutes, he wouldn't lie that being alone was something he wasn't enjoying at the moment and if it meant having to spend time with Negan he would pick that right now rather than be left alone with his thoughts. As he headed downstairs, rubbing the towel against the wet curls of his hair he paused directly in the middle of the staircase when he noticed Negan walking out of the bathroom, his usual black jeans covering his lower half however he was topless with only a towel wrapped around his neck collecting the droplets from his hair. 

Rick took a moment to look at the number of tattoos that were scattered around the taller mans torso, chest and arms alongside the hefty amount of chest hair that Rick had never gotten the chance to notice. 

Negan glanced up and caught Rick's gaze, his mouth moving as if he was about to say something just as the doorbell rang. 

"Put a shirt on." Rick said quickly, grabbing the tee off the banister of the stairs and throwing it in Negan's general direction. "I'll get the door."

A wave of relief washed over the man once he opened the door and saw an unfamiliar women with her hair pulled tightly back holding Sophie on her hip. As soon as the two year old saw Rick stood in front of her she babbled a number of unrecognizable words and reached her arms out towards Rick, which caused a small, sad smile to appear on the social workers face. She allowed Rick to take the baby and as soon as she was safety wrapped in his arms he allowed one single tear to roll down his cheek as he held her against his chest. "Sophie-" he whispered against her head after he had pressed a kiss there, "Shhh, you're home." 

"Hey- come in-" Negan broke the moment as Rick realized he hadn't even introduced himself to the social worker or invited her in but instead had been too distracted by the baby in his arms. The women,  _Evelyn,_ according to her name tag smiled and headed into the front room while Negan turned his attention to Rick and Sophie who were still stood in the doorway. "Hey babygirl-" Negan said in that soft voice that was only usually for Sophie, "C'mere-" Rick slowly passed the two year old into the older mans arms and Sophie went with no protest, little hands grabbing a hold of the side of Negan's face- something she was used to doing because of the facial hair he had there. 

Rick couldn't help but smile softly at the interaction. As much as he and Negan didn't get along, there was always something really soft about Negan and their Goddaughter. 

"Once again i would like to issue my sincere apologies over the passing of your friends." Evelyn assured once they were all sat around the dining room table, Sophie was back in Rick's arms, sat on his knee and distracted by a picture book that Negan had handed her. Negan sat beside them, his head in his hands as he listened. "I'm here as Sophie's social worker and i've been in touch with Mr and Mrs Dixon's family lawyer and have some information to pass onto use-" 

"Us? As in me and him?" Negan questioned as he in pointed in between he and Rick. Rick frowned. "Together?"

"Yes, both of you.. together." she said slowly, as if she couldn't understand the tension rising between them. "Sophie is now an Orphan and therefore has no Guardians.. which is where you two come into this." 

Rick's confused gaze dropped the second Sophie pulled on his sleeve, pointing at the pacifier that had just fallen from her mouth. He quickly replaced it. "Going by Mr and Mrs Dixon's wishes, if anything were to happen to both of them... Sophie would be put in the legal care of you both." 

The silence was deafening, even Sophie was quiet as she sucked on her pacifier and aimlessly flipped the pages of the book back and fourth with little interest. 

Surprisingly, Negan was the first to speak up- " _are you fuckin' kidding me?"_

"Negan-" Rick protested but was instantly cut off again. 

"No, no, there's no way." he continued. "I live in a low rent apartment that smells of booze and cigarettes, my choice of vehicle is a motorbike- you think a baby belongs on the back of that? And for the part where both me and  _him-"_ Negan pointed at rick as he said that. "both getting custody of her- that's  _fucking insane._ There's no way Dar and Beth would put us both as her guardians, not together anyway- we'd kill each other."

"Look there's been a misunderstanding here-" Rick added, although his voice much softer. "We are not married, we- we don't even like each other. They tried to set us up years ago and it failed-"

"Go look over your fucking notes again-"

Maybe Negan had raised his voice without realizing as a second later he was being shut up by the cries of an uncomfortable Sophie who shoved her face into Rick's neck and bawled. "See." Negan said, this time quietly as he watched Rick attempt to comfort the child- which was hard, because at the end of the day nobody here was her mom or dad. "It's not happening-" and with that Negan was out of the front door, leaving Rick behind holding the crying child. 

 

 

Negan starred down at the whiskey in the glass, he had a lost count of the amount he had by now. It had been two hours since he had left the house- Daryl and Beth's. He had to get away and he went to the one place where he knew he wouldn't bump into any children, his local bar that was filled with drunks and people fighting one another. It was quite the culture shock considering he had gone from being surrounded by children toys to now being surrounded by a bunch of drunken, angry bikers. He couldn't decide which he preferred. 

He shook the thought out of his head. He couldn't raise a kid, and he sure as hell couldn't raise one with Mr perfect Rick fuckin Grimes. Imagine that, they'd drive each other insane...Even if Negan wanted to do this,  _and he sure as hell does not,_ there's no way it would work. They were too different, which was evident when they went on that blind date. And Sophie, sweet, adorable Sophie who Negan would die for,  _literally_ , deserved two parents that would be the greatest fucking parents to ever exist. Sure, maybe Rick would be a good parent- after all he was super sensible and went to bed at a responsible hour, but Negan? No, he wasn't made to be a dad.

"Hey, honey-" a southern accent drawled beside him, a second later there was a badly manicured hand on his shoulder and a flirtatious women hanging over him as she flashed him a toothy grin. "You look lonely, thought i should join." 

Now, this was Negan in his element.  _A typical flirt,_ not a parent, but a man who lived off take out food and beer and went through life based on meaningless hook ups. Not a family man. "What's an attractive guy like you doing here looking so glum, huh?" she continued, tracing a finger against his cheek bone. He smirked, turning around in his chair to reciprocate- maybe this was how he forgot about Daryl and Beth's death and the fact that right now Rick was alone in their house caring for their infant daughter... without Negan.  _They'd be better off without you anyway_ the voice in the back of his mind told him harshly. Just as he was about to lean in, a women passing by knocked into him and he glanced down, seeing her baby bump.

He froze, the whiskey and the women instantly forgotten about as his eyes followed the women out of the door as she laughed along to something her friend was saying while her friend was pressed against her bump, softly holding her baby. 

"I have to go." Negan's voice cracked as he spoke up. The women, clearly irritated by his sudden change of mind stormed off leaving Negan stood in the middle of the bar longing to be somewhere else that wasn't here. 

 

"Now, before you even fuckin' speak-" a hand covered Negan's mouth before he even had the chance to finish, Rick glared at him and nodded towards the travel cot in the corner of the room where Sophie laid sleeping. Rick grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the kitchen, closing the door behind them both to avoid waking the baby. 

"No you listen." Rick snapped. "That little girl in there has just lost both of her parents, her whole entire world snatched away from her. Now you have a choice, of course you do, but you make it quickly. She needs stability, not someone that is going to run when things get tough. I'm not going to force you to be a part of this but i am also not going to stop you if this is what you want. So make a choice, either you decide to stay now or you leave- but don't even think about messing that little girl in there about." 

Rick let out a exaggerated breath, tugging on his curls as he did so. 

When neither man spoke up again, Rick walked over and pulled out a chair by the kitchen table, taking a seat. Negan watched with cautious eyes, biting anxiously on his lip as he leaned back against the counter. The baby monitor on the side stayed silent. 

"I know what it feels like to have a promise broken." Negan spoke up after a few silent minutes, Rick barely acknowledged that he had spoke apart from turning his head to the side slightly. "I worshiped the ground my Dad walked on, right until he walked out on me and Mom. I'm not going to say that it didn't fuck me up, now? I don't know if i trust myself with her.. she's tiny and innocent and the thought of ruining that- Rick, how are we ever going to compare to Beth and Daryl?" 

Rick sighed, standing up. "We can't." he shrugged. "But we can sure as hell try and give her the life she deserves. I don't know about you but the thought of giving her up- the last little piece of Daryl and Beth we have left? Makes me feel sick. I'm not going to pretend that when the social worker told us we had been put down as her legal guardians that i didn't feel fucking sick, want to run away for a second, but as soon as i looked into those blue eyes i knew that i would do anything, absolutely anything for her." 

"What if we mess up?" Negan prompted. 

Rick shrugged, "No parent is perfect." 

"You hate me.. Now you are suddenly prepared to raise a two year old with me?" 

"I'd do anything for Sophie. Sure, you're an arrogant, self centered idiot but i know you love that little girl in there and that's all that matters. We will have to learn how to live together." 

"Live together?" Negan laughed. "We getting fuckin married next?" 

Rick glared. "Never." he promised, before continuing. "But, i'm selling my apartment. It's not big enough for a two year old and Sophie is settled here, she's already going to have to adjust to life without her parents i'm not going to take her away from the only house she's ever known. So i'm moving in here, to fit our schedules- you should probably move in too-" 

Negan smirked, "What? We going to share a bed as well?" 

"That will never happen, trust me." Rick hummed as he turned to the baby monitor, hearing Sophie's cries on the other side. "There's enough bedrooms in this house that we will have our own.." 

Negan watched as Rick lifted Sophie from the cot, rocking her back and fourth until her cries died down. Maybe if they tried hard enough, they could actually do this. 


	3. chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a day in the life of Negan, Sophie and Rick

                  "What is this kids problem? _Fuckin' hell_ , she's got a pair of lungs on her-" Negan was cut off almost instantly, the look he received from Rick was enough to warn him off swearing for a little while. It was no secret that Negan had a potty mouth, which was why he was struggling to naturally open his mouth around a two year old, because according to Mr Perfect, Rick _fuckin'_ Grimes, Sophie is at the age where she'll pick up anything and he really doesn't want her swearing at the babysitter. 

"I think it's her teeth." Rick sighed, watching from the corner of the kitchen where he was preparing a warm bottle for her. It was 3am, now otherwise known as Sophie's favorite time to wake up for the past week. And that's all it had been, since Daryl and Beth's death- one fuckin' week and Negan still couldn't get his head around the painful early morning wake ups. 

Negan glanced down at the red face, she was clinging to his sleep shirt as if her life depended on it while she persistently wailed and muttered unrecognizable words behind her pacifier. "Does she need a doctor?" Asking the question itself caused Negan's anxiety to peak, if Sophie was sick in just a week under their care then the kid has zero fuckin' hope- 

"No." Rick, as reassuring as ever walked over and took the crying toddler from his arms. Sophie screamed slightly louder for a few seconds, not sure why she was being moved from the comfort of her Godfathers arms before she realized she was now being held by Rick and her cries fell back into a steady rhythm. "It's just teeth. If anything gets any worse then we will take her." 

Negan watched as Rick rocked the child back and fourth, slowly replacing the pacifier with the bottle as he did. 

 _Silence,_ for the first time in what feels like fucking forever Negan could hear nothing but breathing and that awful clock that Beth bought at a vintage market. There was a terrible moment where Negan thought she was about to start screaming again once the liquid in her bottle was all gone but instead she just curled closer to Rick and closed her eyes,  _fuckin' genius, "_ I could kiss you." Rick shot Negan a look which read,  _please don't,_ before turning around to start heading towards the staircase and return to the nursery. "I mean i won't, ever, but i got so happy that she fell asleep that i was about too-" he teased. 

Rick rolled his eyes, "Oh, i'm flattered." 

The shorter man leaned over the crib and placed the toddler inside, smiling as she reached for the teddy that was always in there. Negan found himself smiling too, because sure it was 3am and he had work in a couple of hours, but damn, she was a cute ass kid. 

"I guess...I'll see you in the morning?" Rick broke the silence, turning on the night light once more in hope for a couple more hours sleep. Although, if this night planned out the same as any other she would be awake in the next hour. Negan already knew he'd be living off coffee for the next couple of years. 

 

 

Time passed all too quickly as soon enough the three of them were gathered around the breakfast table, Negan was nursing a cup of coffee while Rick attempted to feed Sophie mashed banana despite half of the contents being smushed across her face. Both men seemed still half asleep, a complete contrast to a bright eyed Sophie that was in her own little world. "I have a lot of work to do today." Rick announced as he wiped the remaining food from Sophie's mouth. "So, you're going to have to have her by yourself-" 

Negan stopped ideally sipping on his now cold coffee and looked in Rick's direction. Because did he just hear him straight? "Uh, the last time i checked it's not safe for a two year old to hang around a tattoo studio, Grimes." The black haired man snapped. "B'cos i'm working, all fuckin' day-" 

Both men paused from their heated conversation when Sophie giggled and begun clapping her hands, an action she had favored a lot recently. "Well, i have too many orders today. And there's no one working with me to watch Sophie while i work-" 

"You expect her to sit on my lap while i stick a needle in somebody's shoulder?" Negan frowned, calming his voice slightly when Sophie starred back at them evidently picking up on the tension. Both men sighed, this is exactly what they didn't want to happen. 

"I will pick her up as soon as i'm finished." Rick half pleaded, distracting Sophie with some orange juice. "Please?" 

"you better bring me home a fuckin' cupcake, Grimes." Negan grumbled but nether the less stood up and picked up Sophie, placing her on his lip. she giggled at the sudden movement and latched onto the neckless that sat on his neck. "Say bye bye to Ricky, Soph-" she did giggle and open and close her hand in a way that meant she was waving...just badly. 

"Bye, Sophie-" Rick called over his shoulder, washing up the now empty breakfast plates. 

"No goodbye kiss for me?" Negan smirked as he slipped on his leather jacket, "I see how it is." 

 

 

-

 

"Dude...." Dwight frowned the second Negan walked into work, looking in a rush and flustered. Sophie was sat on his shoulders, having been dressed by Negan today she was in a bright purple dress, a pink beanie and bright yellow converses. Rick had not been pleased with the unmatching colours but didn't have the time to protest. "You do realize theres a kid on your shoulders, and she looks like shes about to burst into tears-"

Negan rolled his eyes and lifted Sophie so she was against his chest, that seemed to settle her. "It's cause' she just saw your face." he teased, before placing the toddler in the stroller. "Any chance you have experience in babysitting?" 

"Tons." Dwight grinned, standing up from where he was finishing with a customer and picking up the baby. Negan held his breathe for a second, unsure how Sophie would handle being face to face with a stranger- for a second he was hopeful, maybe he could get on with some work and let Sophie bond with Dwight- Sophie started wailing and threw her arms out in the direction of Negan. "Okay, i changed my mind-" he passed Sophie back to Negan and the guy sighed, his plans totally thrown out of the window. 

"I know, Soph, shh." he rocked her back and fourth in attempt to silence the room once more. The attempt became more desperate when a customer walked in with a confused expression. "I will be with you in one second man-"

"Nah, don't worry. I'm a new dad too, mines 11 month." Negan was about to correct him-  _he swears he was_ \- but he stopped himself. A wave of guilt crashed over him as as he felt that he had just replaced Daryl and Beth. Was that what he and Rick were doing? "She's cute, whats her name?"

"Oh, uh, Sophie." he forced a smile, just as Sophie stopped crying. 

"Adorable." The man smiled, watching as Negan returned her to her stroller. 

"So.." Negan changed the subject, suddenly not feeling in a very chatty mood. "What can i do for you today?" 

 

 

"Someone at work today assumed i was Sophie's dad." Negan blurted out that night. The three of them were on the couch, Rick was snuggled up in the corner with Sophie against his chest, she was distracted by some toys while Negan aimlessly flicked through channels trying to find something remotely interesting. He figured his usual shows wouldn't be appropriate for a two year old. 

"Oh?" Rick looked up, he stroked a hand through the tiny hairs on Sophie's hair. "I guess.. that's going to happen." 

"She's going to forget about them." He stated, feeling awful saying it. His eyes watched Rick play with Sophie, right here they looked like a domestic family and Negan knew this wasn't supposed to be his life. Sophie deserved better, sure, Rick would be a great dad- he can already see it, but Negan? He wasn't made to be a father, his own father abandoning him had set him up for failure a long time ago. "It'll be like they've never existed soon enough- we are living in their house, raising their kid, becoming them." 

"We're not replacing them." Rick replied with a stern expression, Sophie babbled alongside him. "We could never, they are their own people Negan-" 

"Yeah. Well, it sure as hell feels it." maybe he was being childish, drowning in self pity and putting everything onto Rick- but, he couldn't help feel that this was what was happening. 

"Look, Negan. I get it, everything you're saying is right." Rick nodded, "But, what else are we supposed to do? Let someone else raise Sophie? No way, she belongs with us. This is what Beth and Daryl so it's sure as hell what they are going to get. We can't keep having this conversation Negan, if you want out, you tell me now because mess me around all you want but you're not messing Sophie around." 

"Dammnit Rick, that's not what i meant and you know it-" he didn't realize he had raised his voice again until Sophie burst into tears- a child that evidently does not like loud noises. Instead of getting angry, Rick just sighed- picking up the toddler and heading towards the door. "Where are you taking her?" 

"Out of this situation-" Rick shot back before he and Sophie were out of Negan's sight and heading upstairs leaving Negan stood in the middle of the new empty family room feeling pretty, fuckin shitty. "Fuckin' damnnit!" he growled under his breathe, throwing the TV remote at the nearest wall. Thankfully, it didn't break, just landed on the ground and under the couch.  _you're going to fuck this up_ he thought to himself as he starred at the photo of Sophie, innocent little Sophie who deserved the world... At least, the world didn't deserve her. 

He stormed into the kitchen, rooting through the draws and cupboards until he finally found what he was looking for: a bottle of Gin. Evidently, they didn't keep much alcohol around the house, which lead Negan to believe this had been a special occasional kinda drink.  _mine now_ he figured as he unscrewed the lid and lifted the bottle.

Just as his lips met the top of the bottle he froze, the baby monitor that sat on the counter top flickered and suddenly Rick's soft voice filled the room, "I know honey,  _I'm here,_ always here. Close your pretty eyes-" His eyes darted down to the bottle,  _it would be so easy,_ to get drunk and forget it all. Not be a parent. His eyes landed on Sophie's favorite pacifier, the yellow one with the giraffe on the front. 

He screwed the lid back on the bottle and put it away. 

He tried to be as quiet as possible as he headed up the stairs, hearing nothing but silence which in directed that Sophie had fallen asleep. His thoughts were confirmed as he slowly pushed open the door of the nursery and saw Rick on the rocking chair fast asleep with Sophie on his knee, he found himself smiling at the picture ahead of him. 

He switched on Sophie's night light, the mini stars illuminating the room as he did. Picking Sophie up from Rick's arms, he then placed her in the cot- placing a purple blanket over here and thanking the heavens when she didn't wake. He looked at Rick for a few moments, contemplating what to do- he grabbed a spare blanket and threw it over the man. Watching him carefully for a few seconds, he noticed the long length of Rick's eyelashes and the curls that drooped down on his forehead as if he had been running his fingers through them, with his eyes closed Negan was scared to admit he actually missed the blue that he was getting too familiar with. 

He grabbed a blanket for himself and took a seat on the floor in between the crib and rocking chair... maybe he would regret it in the morning when he woke with a bad back, although right now he couldn't give a shit enough to care allowing himself to fall asleep to the comforting sound of both Sophie and Rick breathing softly. 


	4. chapter four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Negan and Rick vs the social worker

 

 

                  "Shit, Negan-" the black haired man groaned as he was shaken awake, something he hadn't exactly experienced since his teenage years when he would be late for school, well, when he actually turned up that was. He opened his eyes and were met with the ever so familiar blue eyes that he had gotten used to by now, Rick looked flustered as he quickly buttoned up a button up shirt, slipping his belt through the hoops of his jeans just as he finished. "The social worker just rang... she's stopping by." 

Negan shot up from where he had been sat on the rocking chair, as expected falling asleep in the nursery the night before had resulted in a painful back. Sophie was sat on her playmat, stacking blocks on top of each other while she looked in between both her panicked guardians. "What? She never fuckin' mentioned just randomly stopping by-" he ran a hand through his hair, hoping that it would naturally fall into place and not look like he had been sleeping in an awkward position for the duration of the night. 

"C'mere Soph, let's get you cleaned up-" Rick sighed, using his soft voice that was usually reserved for the baby. Sophie latched onto his arms and Negan waited until they had both disappeared into the bathroom to get ready before he headed into the spare room where his clothes had been living for the past week. He raised his eyebrows as he looked at his options, naturally it was just a bunch of grey Henleys, the odd plaid shirt and an endless amount of jeans that were either ripped or on their way out. He decided to go with a plain white tee, some black jeans and a grey overshirt that hopefully presented him in a positive light, the last thing either of them needed was the social worker not getting the best vibes and threatening to take Sophie away.

"Ready?" Rick said, a little breathless as he stood at the top of the stairs, Sophie was dressed in a pair of dungarees and looked surely adorable. Negan nodded and smiled as Sophie was passed into his arms, the toddler babbled for a few moments and begun giggling as Negan jogged down the stairs, Rick following behind like the mature adult out of the both of them. 

"Hi, welcome to our home-" Negan cheered with an exaggerated smile as he pulled open the front door to see a surprised looking social worker. She was most likely confused by the cheerful persona Negan was putting on, after all the last time she had seen him had been the night after Daryl and Beth's death and he was surely not Mr friendly then. "Please, come in and enjoy it with us-" Rick elbowed him in the ribs once Evelyn was heading into the lounge, he winced as a reaction and turned to glare at the curly haired man. 

"What was that for?" he whispered under his breath as both men started to follow Evelyn into the other room. 

"Stop whatever you're doing." Rick muttered, "Acting like we are Gods gift, she's going to sense somethings wrong." 

the black haired man rolled his eyes but took a seat next to the man anyway, placing Sophie down by her toys so they could chat to Evelyn with little distraction. "so... how has it all been this past week?" 

Both men looked at each other, as if they were hoping one of them would come up with an answer that would please her.  Naturally, it was Rick that finally answered- Negan choosing to tug on the lace of his sneakers instead. "Good. Sophie's actually been sleeping well, no trouble, she loves avocado- her new favorite"

Evelyn smiled at his words before adding, "How are you both coping? I'm sure it was a shock to be thrown in at the deep end-" 

"For sure." Rick agreed, "But we are getting there...together." 

Negan looked up with hopeful eyes and locked them with Rick's, their eye contact broke the second Evelyn started talking as Rick turned his head to respond to her and Negan found himself starring at the side of Rick's head. "If you don't mind me asking..." Evelyn said slowly, waiting until Negan finally broke his eyes from Rick to look at her. "Are you two...uh, how do i say this? Are you two...involved?" 

Rick raised an eyebrow and looked between the two adults with a confused expression, that lasted until Negan let out a chuckle, throwing his arm behind Rick's back on the couch and grinning- "Ah, honey she's asking if we are fucking-" 

Rick choked on air, a blush rising all over his face that Negan couldn't help but love. "W-what? No, we are not- nope, no way." the brunette spluttered, refusing to make any eye contact with a smirking Negan as he did. After all he expected that Negan would love this and therefore didn't need to look for that to be confirmed. "I wouldn't even call us friends, we don't even like each other half the time-" 

Negan felt a weird gut punch at that,  _strange,_ he's never had that reaction before- usually he would agree with Rick on their hatred for each other. This time however, it felt a little different. 

"Oh" Evelyn said, looking somewhat embarrassed for asking. "I'm sorry, that was inappropriate for me to ask. Although, i am rather pleased to hear that you are keeping your relationship non-romantic, it makes my job so much easier." 

Rick's breathing stablized and he glanced up, with a raised eyebrow. "How'd you mean?" 

"I've seen so many relationships break down in my job and it's always the child that is trapped in the middle, i think it would be much better for this situation to work if you don't complicate things." Negan let out a scoff at that, sure, it wasn't supposed to be heard out loud but it was already too late as both Evelyn and Rick were turning in his direction with confused expressions. 

"So you're saying if me and Rick were rolling in the sheets together-" Rick paled again at Negans analogy, "That we wouldn't be able to raise Sophie? We'd suddenly become shit guardians, huh? What's that supposed to mean-" 

Rick sighed, "That's not what she meant, Negan." 

"What did we give you the impression we were bending each other over the dining room table or something?" The black haired man continued, because of course he continued, this was Negan after all. 

"No, no-" Rick cut them both off with a shake of his head. 

"Evelyn i can assure you that there is no romantic connection between me and Negan and there never will be." he promised. "Sophie is our priority and is all that needs to be focused on." 

 

 

 

"In our next meeting she'll come around and check our fuckin' bedsheets" Negan grumbled as he pushed the cart through the frozen food isle, Sophie sat happily in the baby seat of it while distracting herself with a bag of carrot sticks Rick had placed in her hand a couple moments before. They were grocery shopping, something Negan had barley done in his entire lifetime before this. Evidently, he preferred to live on takeouts and if he needed anything else he usually stopped by the nearest gas station to pick up some milk. So, he had been put off a little when Rick had rushed down the stairs dressed for the weather with an excited Sophie on his hip announcing they were going grocery shopping. So here he was, at the local supermarket chasing after Rick as he bundled a load of healthy shit into their cart while glaring at Negan every time he slipped in pizza pockets and anything else that wouldn't be good to live off. "Like talk about invasion of privacy." 

"She's just doing her job, Negan." Rick said, like the ever fucking peace maker he was. "Checking that Sophie is in a stable environment." 

Negan grinned to himself as he placed a pair of bright red sunglasses over Sophie's head, the glasses were clearly too big for her but the picture he snapped on his phone was for sure going as his screensaver. Rick even cracked a smile when he looked over and saw the pair. 

"What's for tea tonight, angel?" Negan teased as he watched Rick look through a section of pastas. If they were doing domestic activities he was sure as hell going to play up to them. 

"Don't call me that." Rick muttered as he threw a garlic bread in the mans direction, which Negan thankfully caught. "Spaghetti" 

"Mmmhm, you're so good to me honey." Negan continued, his smirk growing. "Isn't that right, Sophie? Isn't Ricky so good to us-" When he heard no annoyed comeback from the brunette he looked up and was faced with zero Rick,  instead Rick was a few shelves down talking to someone that Negan had never laid eyes on before. That someone being a pretty blonde haired women that was looking at Rick like he had hung the moon in the sky. He frowned and glanced down at Sophie who was looking up at him in wonder, most likely unsure on why he had stopped talking- 

"Hmm, i think somebody has a crush on our Ricky, Soph" Negan said slowly to the toddler, of course Sophie paid little attention and just focused on her carrot sticks. "Yeah...we will see about that." 

Then Negan was pushing the cart towards Rick and the blonde, forcing an exaggerated smile as he did. "Hey, where did you go? Me and Soph were worried for a damn second-" he didn't look in the direction of the women, just put all his attention onto a confused Rick who was unsure why Negan was suddenly using this soft voice that was usually reserved for Sophie. What suprised him even more was the hand that Negan placed on his shoulder followed by the little tug that saw him moving closer to the black haired man and away from Jessie. 

"Negan..." Rick said slowly, as if he was unsure. "This is Jessie.., a friend."

"Oh, he's never mentioned you." Negan made a point as he stuck a hand out, the blonde glanced down and looked at his hand filled with rings and bracelets before accepting the shake. "His friend, he said?" 

"Uh, yeah. We met at his bakery, i'm also a childs nurse so i've seen little Sophie around a few times-" Negan raised an eyebrow as he watched the blonde, Jessie, whatever her name was lean down and stroke a hand across Sophie's hair. 

"She's tired, Rick." he suddenly blurted out, "We should hurry up and get home." 

"Oh-" Rick said, sounding a little surprised.  Most likely because Sophie had literally just taken her afternoon nap. "Okay, sure. Uh, i'll see you around Jessie?" 

"Yes! Sounds great-" she sounded a little too enthusiastic for Negan's liking. "We could meet up for diner sometime, that will allow us to catch up?" 

"Sounds great, i'll give you a call-" 

Negan was already pushing the cart away, expecting the brunette to follow. Which he did. 

"Hey is she okay?" he asked once he had finally caught up to them both, after all Negan had sped off real quick. 

"Huh?" the black haired man replied. 

"Sophie, you said she was tired?"

"Oh." he nodded, "Yeah, she was getting a little moody. Have we good enough food?"

"Sure have, let's go baby-" he cooed to Sophie as he lifted her from the cart, the baby wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing while Negan watched on, 

 

_he smiled._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments are always loveddddd :) x


	5. chapter five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Negan feels feelings and Sophie is as adorable as ever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween :p

 

 

         "Oh, ha, ha. Never thought i'd see the fuckin' day-" Negan frowned as Simon entered the house and knocked his shoulder as he did, he hadn't expected any visitors and neither did he want any. Sophie wasn't feeling very well and therefore had been up half the night, and once again Rick and Negan had ended up passing out in her nursery- a habit they should break. Now? One of his longest, but most annoying friends had decided to just stop by with little announcement while Rick had nipped out for some baby medicine while Sophie napped. 

"Lower your voice, Sophie is asleep and if you wake her i will have your fuckin' head, alright?" Negan snapped, glaring hard at the older man as he did. Simon let out a laugh, holding his hands in surrender as he headed into the lounge, dragging his grimey hands against the perfectly clean walls as he did. He made sure to hook the baby monitor onto his belt in case the baby woke upstairs and he didn't hear her over Simon's loud ass voice. "Don't touch that-" he muttered as he entered the room and saw Simon holding up a photo frame of Sophie. 

"She's cute." Simon grinned, placing the frame back down- although it wasn't exactly where he left it which irritated the man beyond belief. "Can i meet her?" 

"No, you smell like a bottle of vodka and cigarettes. Did you stop by after your usual meeting at the fuckin' strip club?" He inquired, after all Negan wasn't sure if Simon had actually seen the walls of his apartment in months. If you wanted to find the man your best bet was a strip club or the nearest biker bar. If he wasn't there, chances are he's dead. 

"Pfft, look at you-" Simon chuckled, running a hand through his salt and pepper hair. "You forget that you ain't Mr Perfect Negan, this isn't your life. All this shit, you're pretending" he motioned around the room as he did, "You might think that you can do this, but you can't and jesus hasn't that prick Rick not drove you up the wall already? I mean i've never met him but he sounds like he thinks he's Mr Perfect whose never put a foot wrong-" 

"You're right, you haven't met him so shut your fuckin' mouth before i shut it for you." Simon smirked at Negan's reply, taking a seat on the sofa and kicking up his combat boots on the coffee table. Negan wanted to say, get your feet off the furniture, but that would've just given the man another reason to smirk. "What are you doing around here anyway, this is the suburbs- thought you'd be seen dead before being here." 

"Could've said the same about you." Simon smiled, "I missed you, you've been so distracted lately. I missed my drinking buddy." 

Negan rolled his eyes, and kicked the mans feet from the table. Thankfully, Simon wasn't hard to push and soon enough his boots were back on the ground- damn, he really should've told him to take them off before entering. Sophie sits on this floor. "I haven't been distracted, it's just not exactly easy to get drunk with a two year old, Si." 

"What? Can't Mr i can do no wrong look after her?" 

"His name is Rick and i'm not going to leave them high and dry." his voice may have came out harsher than expected, although the man didn't have it in him to care. This was Simon all over, unsure how to deal with anyone but himself. They had met in high school, in detention, Simon had spray painted some shit on school property and Negan had been in a fight with the captain of the football team. Typical. 

"Wait, i see what's happened here. Why you're never out anymore" Simon laughed, "I've figured it out." 

"What the fuck are you talking about Simon?" Negan was frustrated, if Sophie wasn't upstairs he would have most likely tried to strangle the man by now. Sure, he classed Simon as a friend but they have had enough physical fights in their lives to be able to lose count of them. 

"You like Mr i can do no wrong." he turned to Negan and grinned, completely cocky and Negan was about to punch him. "Of course, fuck Negan are you sleeping with him? That's it, isn't it- you've been too busy having motherfuckin' sex to come hang with your dearest friend-" he was about to argue back, because sure, Negan hadn't developed the best reputation but he had been a little busy looking after a kid to roll around in the sheets with Rick. But, the baby monitor flashed and soon enough Sophie's wails were filling the room. "Jesus christ, she's got a set of fuckin' lungs on her-" 

"Me and Rick are not sleeping together and if you want to keep your voice box don't swear around her." and then Negan was stopping up the stairs as if he was a man on a mission and heading straight towards the nursery. Sophie was stood up in her crib, tears in her eyes and waiting for somebody to respond to her. The second her eyes landed on Negan she was throwing her arms out and demanding to be picked up, which he instantly complied to. "Hey, pretty girl. I'm here, did you think we had gone? Shhhh" he whispered as he rocked her back and fourth, she grabbed a hold of his shirt and held on for dear life. "C'mon, let's get you some juice. Hey, how about we get some orange? Yeah? I know you love that-" 

"Jesus, is that you Negan or some desperate housewife?" Negan's glare got darker as Simon spoke, he backed up instantly as the man reached out a hand to touch Sophie's head. 

"What? I haven't got any diseases, pal." 

"She doesn't know you, so back off." Negan said through gritted teeth before he was passing by the man and heading into the kitchen. Thankfully, Sophie's cries had stopped and he was able to place her in the high chair and distract her with some crackers. Only tensing again as he heard Simon follow them into the kitchen, the man looked around and quirked an eyebrow at the sight of almond milk. 

"Damn, you really have changed." he shot Sophie a grin over Negan's shoulder. "I bet there isn't a single drop of alcohol in this place? Does Rick make you go to bed by 8?" 

"Did somebody say my name?" Both men turned around to see a cold looking Rick stood in the doorway, his expression looked a little annoyed for a second until he spotted Sophie in the high chair and instantly his expression was being replaced with a softer look. He walked past Simon who looked him up and down as he passed and placed the bag of medicine on the counter, next he headed over to Sophie and placed a kiss on her forehead before removing his coat and hat. Simon made his move closer to Negan and leaned in, "I'll give it to you, he's much hotter than i expected-" he winced as Negan's elbow met his stomach. 

Rick turned at the noise and looked in between both men. "I don't believe we have met." he decided. "i'm Rick." 

"I've heard a lot about you." Simon shoved his hand out towards the man, it took Rick a few seconds but he did accept. "I've been waiting to meet you. I'm one of Negan's dearest friends, isn't that right Neegs?" 

The black haired man just ignored him, focusing on feeding Sophie the crackers the toddler was determined to crush in between her fingers. 

"Well...I'm making chicken for diner if you would like to stay-" Negan was looking up and instantly stopping that idea before Simon could agree. 

"No, he has plans." Rick nodded slowly and started unpacking the grocery bag. Simon shot Negan a hurt expression before smirking, yeah Negan had officially had enough. "In fact, he has to leave right now?" Evidently, Negan saw Simon about to protest- after all he had only been here fiftheen minutes max and the last time he had seen Negan had been weeks ago when in the past they never went a day without bumping into each other. Usually because you'd find them at the nearest bar together. Thankfully, Simon shut his mouth when he saw the murderous look that Negan was shooting him over Rick's shoulder. 

"Uh, yeah- i have some business to attend too-" he made his way over to Sophie and leant down until they were on face level. Sophie squealed, being the friendly toddler she was she didn't pick up on the bad energy between her caregiver and Simon. "Damn, you're pretty cute and that's coming from someone that would rather chop their, you know what off, before having kids-" 

"And Rick-" Simon drawled placing a hand on the mans shoulder, just as Negan tensed and gritted his teeth. "You're very handsome i must say, can't understand why Negan never hit it off with you on that blind date all those years ago-" 

"Right, Sophie, say goodbye to Simon." Negan said suddenly, tugging Simon away from Rick. "He's going." 

 

"Damn, Neegs. You could cut the sexual tension in there with a knife," Simon chuckled once they were outside, it was a sunny day and there were a lot of neighbors out within the neighborhood. Negan was still trying to get to living in the suburbs, after all he was a city boy. "And i'm not talking about it between me and your boy Rick in there." 

"Shut your mouth." Negan warned, "Before i shut it for you." 

Simon laughed, hands in the air as he backed away towards his truck. "Call me when you get bored of playing happy families." and then he was gone, which he was thankful for. If the man had stayed any longer he would've most likely been thrown into the nearest wall. 

"Hey, look whose back-" Rick said in that soft voice that Sophie loved, the toddler was still sat in her high chair, half way through a packet of crackers while she watched Rick busy around the kitchen- most likely preparing food for tonight. There was one thing about Rick, and that was his cooking- sure, Negan hadn't left the standards that high as his specialty was turkey dinosaurs and oven fries and when he wasn't burning those he would've been ordering a takeout. But living with a baker? Yeah, he figured it had it's advantages. "So, you're friend...." 

"Is an asshole, i know." Negan confirmed as he hopped up onto the breakfast counter, grabbing a banana as he did. "Sorry, he kinda stopped by without telling me it was happening." 

"Well, i wasn't going to use that word exactly." the man smiled, and Negan counted the crinkles that appeared by his eyes as he did. "But, he's definitely something." 

 

 

"Mmmmm, this tastes better than anything i've ever tasted." Negan confirmed as he shoved another load of chicken into his mouth, once again Rick had out done himself and made the best fuckin' meal of Negan's life. "Seriously, maybe you should go on master chef-" 

"Hmmm, i don't want to give up any of my secret recipes though." the brunette replied as he cut Sophie's chicken up to little pieces. Negan couldn't help but grin as he watched the younger man work with the little pink knife and fork that Sophie liked to use. "I mean, sure, i'd most likely win but at what price?" 

"Alright, don't let my compliments go to your head." Negan laughed, looking down at his almost empty plate. 

It was weird, growing up without a family because your parents were too busy drinking to cook an actual meal and then going into adulthood with no partner was the only life Negan was used to. Sure, Rick wasn't his partner, hell he wasn't even sure if the man actually liked him or if he was just putting up with him for Sophie's sake. If Negan had thought about that a couple of weeks ago, he wouldn't have cared- in fact, he would have most likely replied with something of the same information. Now? maybe it felt like a punch to the gut to know that Rick might hate him, might just see the guy he met on that fuckin' blind date and associate that with him forever. 

"oh, Jesse has just texted." Rick announced, breaking Negan from his thoughts. He looked up instantly, stress lines already appearing on his forehead as he starred down at the phone in Rick's hand as if it was a ticking time bomb. 

"Jesse?" he said, forcing his voice to sound normal and not like he was choking on air. "Your girlfriend from the grocery store?" 

Rick rolled his eyes, of course Negan was being his usual self. "Would you be able to have Sophie tomorrow night?" 

Negan mentally thought and was disappointing to realize that tomorrow night he would be completely free and there was nothing to stop him having Sophie by himself. And therefore there was nothing stopping Rick going on a fuckin' date- because that's what Jesse will want it to be right? Negan saw the heart eyes she was shooting blue eyes. 

"Uh." he rubbed the back of his neck, angry with himself that he couldn't come up with an excuse to stop this nonsense. "Sure." 

"it's just a catch up, i'll be home before Sophie's bedtime." Rick assured, although looked really fuckin' happy and Negan hated it. "Right Soph, can't let you go to sleep without my bedtime cuddles, huh?" he said as he started tickling the babies stomach, she giggled and Negan's heart melted. 

 

"You want anything else to eat?" Rick asked as he lifted Sophie from the high chair before passing her over to the taller man, Negan happily accepted her and stood up with a shake of his head and a thank you. "Do you wanna bath Sophie or shall i?" 

Negan shrugged, "We both can?" he suggested. 

Rick quirked his eyebrow but let out a little smile as he did, "Sure. sounds like a cute little family night?" 

Family night? Was that what they were, a family? Because Negan sure as hell hadn't had one of those before so excuse him if he was a little rusty at understanding what exactly a family was. 

 

 

 

"Awwww, Negan. Look-" the black haired man turned around from where he had been brushing his teeth and facing the small mirror in the bathroom to see a happy sophie in the bath, she had bubbles around her face as if she had a very large beard. "She looks just like you." 

"Hmm, Sophie- are you stealing my signature look?" he teased as he knelt down to the floor, right beside Rick who was carefully watching the little girls hair. Sophie giggled as she splashed some water towards both men, surprisingly, for a two year old with tiny hands she managed to get a lot of water out of the bath and all over Negan and Rick's shirts. They groaned in sync and looked at each other. 

"Little monkey-" Rick chuckled as he stood up, his next move had Negan starring- he slipped off his t shirt and dropped it into the washing basket before sitting back down. Negan was acting as if he's never seen another mans body before and only looked away when his eyes connected with Ricks,  "You're gonna get cold if you keep that shirt on,i'll go get us replacements once Sophie is finished splashing." He figured that it was also the best option to stay topless, if not they would only get their shirts wet again. 

So, Negan took his top off so all his most favorite tattoos that were scattered across his chest were on show, and sat back down next to Rick. His grin grew the second he caught Rick looking him up and down, which only stopped when Sophie made a happy noise and took Rick's attention away. "Like my tattoos, Rick?" 

"Well....there not horrible." the man teased as he flashed Negan a toothy grin before returning to looking at Sophie. Negan looked at Rick for a few more moments, happiness plastered across his face. 

Maybe he could get used to this. 


	6. chapter six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Negan and Rick experience their first scare

Rick looked good. Negan wasn't afraid to admit it, not anymore at least. He was wearing a button up shirt that matched the color of his eyes and pants that were unlawfully tight, which would have pleased Negan- if Rick wasn't going out on a fuckin' date with little miss perfect.  _ironic_ to quote Simon, Mr i can do no wrong is destined to be with little miss perfect, it was written in the stars and that pissed the man off beyond belief. 

Sophie was on his hip, looking at Rick with a big ass smile that Negan would mirror if he wasn't so pissed off.  _Why_? Fuck knows, it wasn't as if he minded looking after Sophie alone. After all, the kid was most likely his most favorite person in the entire world and he would happily spend every moment of the day with her, but- he had never looked after her alone and what if something went wrong? What if she decided she didn't want Negan without Rick and wailed all night until the neighbors got mad and stressed Sophie out even more. Or worse, Rick decides Jesse is the love of his fuckin' life and leaves, starts a family together and takes Sophie. She wouldn't even remember him if she left now, and Negan would be alone with only a hint of an idea of what a real family was- 

"Hey, Negan?" his eyes shot towards Rick who was looking at him in concern,  _how long had he been fuckin' out of it_? If this had happened in the past he would have been straight to the nearest bar, however he figured it wouldn't be the most mature thing to take a two year old to a bar. "You okay?" 

"Yeah, just tired." He lied, before walking over to Rick and buttoning up the top button that Rick had left undone. "Can you go already? We just wanna hang together don't we Soph-" 

"Alright, alright, i get it." He sighed, before pressing a kiss to Sophie's forehead and passing her to the taller man. Negan shot him a tight smile before turning to face Sophie instead, she just glanced up at him with wide eyes while she sucked aimlessly on her pacifier. Negan wondered if she didn't want Rick to leave either. "Ring me if you need me, love you-" Negan held Sophie outwards as the brunette leaned over and kissed her forehead once more. 

And then Rick was gone and Negan was left in the middle of a now empty hallway with a tired Sophie latched onto his arms..

 

 

"It's great to see you again." Jesse smiled softly from across the candle lit table, eyes shining as she did. They had picked out a small restaurant on the outskirts of town, Italian, Rick's favorite. Up to now he's enjoyed himself, however he couldn't deny the amount of times he checked his phone in the first half an hour as his anxiety peaked over leaving Sophie. Is this what parents feel like when they leave their kid at home? Nether the less, as the night progressed he became lighter and actually focused on Jesse. "Or actually be able to see you long enough to talk" she chuckled. 

"That's true." Rick smiled behind his glass as he took a sip, "As fun as it is bumping into each other at the doctors office, work, and then supermarkets. I think this is a much better setting." 

"I must admit," she started after a few silent moments, "I was unsure about asking you out tonight." 

He quirked an eyebrow, "Oh?" 

She ran a hand through her hair nervously before continuing, "I was unsure about your situation at home-" 

"With Sophie?" Rick understood that there is going to be some people in life that would be put off dating someone who had a kid, sure, it wasn't exactly fair but it was life. 

She shook her head, "More so Negan." she shrugged, "At first i might have thought you both were in a relationship-" she started laughing straight away but all Rick could do was force a nervous smile. Is that what everyone thought when they saw Negan, Sophie and Rick out in public? He figured they did look like a family, and if he was being honest more often that not he had started seeing them as that- as dysfunction as they may be. Which peaked his anxiety once more, after all what happened to that family if he or Negan started dating somebody else? The thought was shook from his head as Jesse continued talking, totally changing the subject as she did. Rick couldn't decide if he was happy about that or not. 

The night progressed on, the conversation, thankfully became more lighthearted as the night continued. It was when Negan's name popped up on the screen that the night was cut short. Usually Rick wouldn't answer a phone call when in company of another, but this had been an exception and he had automatically pressed the green button- "Hey Negan?" 

What Rick wasn't expecting was a version of Negan that he had never heard before- not the usual cocky voice with that deep drawl, nor the tired Negan he faced at 3am in the morning that was evidently grumpy. This Negan though- he sounded scared. 

"Rick-" the man half gasped, "S-Sophie, something happened-" 

Jesse shared a confused glance at rick as she watched his smile drop, "What?" he shot up and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair, "What's happened?" 

"The nurse said it's a high fever-" he panicked. "Just get to the hospital now, i can't fuckin' cope without you." 

And then he was gone and Rick was turning to Jesse, "Sophie's been taken to ill, i'm so sorry but-" 

She cut him off and waved a hand out, "I'll drive, you're shaking." 

 

 

Negan was pacing the corridor of the children's ward. His heart was beating way too fast for his liking as he looked through the tiny window at the small body laying on the bed. He had gotten her ready for bed when her temperature had started to rise, it wasn't until he took her temperature that he decided that she needed to be rushed to hospital.  _fuck_ and this would happen while rick was on his fuckin' date- 

"Negan-" the relief that washed over him was overwhelming, so much so that he found himself doing something that he wouldn't have done if he had been of mind. He turned around and rushed straight towards Rick and fell into his arms, sure it had been awkward at first- as much as Rick wouldn't like to admit, Negan had height on him and therefore he had to bend his back in order for the embrace to work. He didn't know why he did it, he hadn't been fuckin' hugged in all of his life but at this he couldn't care. "What's happened? Where's sophie?" Rick asked, but didn't let go. Negan noticed that Jesse was stood next to him, he tightened his grip on the man. 

"The nurse said it's a fever." Negan said, finally pulling himself back up as he wiped his eyes. "They've stabilized her and given her medicine. Nothing we've done wrong, just a sick kid. She'll be able to come home tomorrow as long as shes okay through the night-" 

The brunette sighed a breath of relief and nodded, "Can we stay with her? Tonight i mean?" 

Negan nodded, "They're bringing us some blankets. Uh, unless your date isn't finished-" 

"Oh, no. I can go-" Jesse quickly said with a small smile. "As long as Sophie is okay." 

Rick turned his attention to her and smiled sadly, "I'm sorry about this. Honestly, i enjoyed tonight." 

Negan rubbed his neck and itched closer to the man, waiting for this to be over. 

"I'll call you?" Rick added, he leaned over and kissed her cheek just as Negan looked away. And then she was gone and Rick's attention was fully on Negan. "Can we go see her?" 

 

Sophie smiled happily as Negan and Rick walked through the door, she was dressed in an adorable cartoon patterned gown and her hair was plastered across her forehead. "There's our girl-" Negan cooed as he sat down on one side of the bed while Rick took the other, both men taking a tiny hand. "Gave us a scare then, pretty girl." 

She grabbed a hold of the sleeve of Negan's leather jacket and tugged. "Sorry i wasn't there-" Rick mumbled after a few moments of the three of them sat in a comfortable silence. The black haired man looked up with a frown, "Hey no, i'm sorry i rang in such a panic. I thought i did something at first to hurt her, i was so scared." 

Surprisingly, Rick leaned over and placed a hand over Negan's. "You did nothing. You got her to safety and that's the best thing you could've done." 

Negan smiled, tracing a finger across the back of Rick's hand.

They stayed like that until a nurse wandered in, smiling at the picture of the three of them all piled together in one bed. Sophie had fallen asleep with her yellow pacifer hanging from her mouth, her legs were spread across Rick while her head rested on Negan- they were all that close. "I must say." she said as she handed some extra blankets to them. "You have a beautiful family, little Sophie is a very lucky girl-" 

Rick opened his mouth to protest, but automatically closed it. 

_They were a family, a dysfunctional one at that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fluffy chapter next i promise x


	7. chapter seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Negan gets a promotion- which calls for celebration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i figured i should introduce some fluff ;p

"Honey, guess who is home-" Negan kicked the door behind him, not even flinching at the sound it made as an over exaggerated smile over took his face as he remembered the news he had to tell Rick. He headed down the hallway, smiling as he started to hear the laughter of Sophie and voice of Rick who was evidently reading her a story and attempting to put on the voices of the characters. He paused as he reached the doorway of the lounge, Sophie was sat in between Rick's legs as she starred up at him with amazement. Clearly Rick was skilled in character voices. "Well, haven't i walked into the cutest thing ever-"

Rick half jumped when he realized Negan had been watching them, rolling his eyes moments after he did. "You couldn't have said something?" The black haired man shrugged and headed further into the room, opening his arms for Sophie who crawled across the ground close enough that he picked her up and greeted her. "I just did." Sophie placed both of her tiny hands on either side of his beard and pulled, giggling as she did. He winced.

"How was your day, baby girl?"

"On behalf of our lovely Sophie," Rick teased as he headed towards them both, sure, Sophie was starting to handle her words but she wasn't at the stage where she could answer herself. "We have finger painted, as you can see by the cute purple handprint that is now on one of your favorite white tees- _sorry_ \- then we had some great lunch, had a nap-  _Sophie not me_ -and here we are." 

"Mmmhm, sounds like i missed out on a fun day." he pressed a kiss to her forehead before placing her back down onto a blanket that contained many of her toys to keep her entertained for a while. "So, i have some news." 

Rick strained his neck from where he was passing Sophie a cup of apple juice, "should i be worried?" 

"Nope.... i got promoted today." He grinned. "My boss quit, i own half of a fuckin' tattoo parlor. My own tattoo parlor-" 

Negan wouldn't deny the overwhelming happiness that washed over him at Rick's reaction, the man, evidently pleased stood up straight and shot Negan one of the most genuine smiles that Negan has ever witnessed. "That's great Negan, you should be pretty proud of yourself-" the man couldn't decide if he felt so happy because he was finally being appreciated for all of his hard work or if it was because it was Rick who was complimenting him. "You hear that Soph? We going to be upgrading this house at this rate with Negan's money-" he joked as he turned towards the toddler who was looking between them, clearly not getting the joke. 

"Actually-" Negan added, "I've been thinking about this house. We've been in it for a while, and uh, i don't know about you but i still feel like we are camping out at Daryl and Beths." 

Rick looked somewhat relieved as he butted in, "Ive been feeling the exact same? I can't even enter Daryl and Beth's bedroom without feeling like i'm invading their privacy. Sophie crawled into it a few days ago and i stood in the doorway for at least six minutes." 

There were pictures of Daryl and Beth's life scattered around the walls, including their families, parents, everything but no signs that Negan and Rick were actually the ones that lived here now. "I've been thinking, i don't want it to be like we are forgetting them. But- maybe we should start officially making this place a little more us" Negan couldn't help notice that he used the word  _US_. "Just a few pictures, bed sheets, uh- as much as i loved Beth, that shower curtain has gotta go-" 

Rick laughed in agreement, Beth always had an obsession with floral. 

"Let's do it." he nodded. "But... First, i think we should call Sophie's babysitter and celebrate?" 

"Celebrate? Are you flirting with me, Grimes?" Negan smirked, stepping a little closer to the man. The brunette actually smirked back,  _progress_ \- Negan figured before adding,  _you wish_. 

Damn maybe he did. 

"Dinner. We can go out for dinner" Rick suggested, with a shrug. 

"Kay." the man hummed, "But i'm picking the place." 

 

Turns out Beth's beloved babysitter that she swore by for Sophie was a kid, some blonde haired, blue eyed kid that was overjoyed to be reunited with little Sophie. Sure, when someone over half of his size had entered the room after Negan anwsered the front door, he had been a little unsure if they should actually leave Sophie with someone barley old enough to watch late night TV. But, then he remembered the amount of times Beth and Daryl let her looking after Sophie and he couldn't let himself feel bad about it. 

"She's been fed." Negan confirmed as he stood in the lounge with the kid and Sophie, Rick was still upstairs getting ready. "So, she'll most likely fall asleep not long after we've left. Help yourself to food and uh anything- although just do whatever you used to do here when uh, Beth and Daryl were around." 

"Don't worry about me and Sophie-" she grinned, "Enjoy your date-" 

"Oh, it's not a-" but Rick was already walking into the room dressed in lethal tight pants and a button up that complimented his eyes and Negan wouldn't deny feeling a little breathless for a couple of minutes.  _That doesn't mean shit_ he told himself before grinning at the curly haired man. Rick looked him up and down and raised an eyebrow, "Made an effort for me?" He was in his usual black skinny jeans and leather jacket, however this time under his leather jacket was his most expensive black button up and his favorite dr martens on his feet. 

"Anything for you, blue eyes." he teased, shooting a glare at the kid as she smirked in his direction as if she knew something he didn't. 

"Let us know if you need us to come home." Rick told the babysitter, leaning down and pressing a kiss to Sophie's forehead. "Love you Sophie, we will be here when you wake up." 

Negan copied the process of saying goodbye to Sophie before he followed Rick to the garage. "Uh, nope." he said as he saw Rick walking towards his car. "We are taking my bike." 

"Over my dead body will i get on your death trap." Rick said, crossing his arms over his chest as if he was protesting. 

Nether the less, Negan grabbed a helmet for Rick and shoved it towards him. "It'll be fun. Live a little." Rick huffed but actually listened to the older man and moved towards the bike, Negan got on first before patting the space behind him with a grin, knowing Rick hated this already. Once Rick was in place, he added- "Wrap your arms around my waist-" he nodded once Rick did it, the brunette holding on a little too tightly but Negan didn't protest. "When i lean, you lean with me okay- not against me, but with me." He felt Rick nod against his back. 

"And, don't let go." 

"Are you fucking crazy? As if i'm going to be letting go anytime soon." He chuckled and started the engine, which caused Rick to tighten his grip- although Negan wasn't sure that was actually possible. 

Thankfully for Rick, it didn't take that long to get to the restaurant and Rick half jumped off the bike once they parked up in the parking lot. "See, you're alive aren't you?" 

"Still." He muttered, wrapping an arm around himself for extra comfort. "I still feel like i should've worn thermals, it was freezing." 

"Yeah, i get it. You're not into the biker life, let's go-" Rick stared at his outstretched arm, as if he was contemplating taking it for a few moments before he finally reached out and linked arms with the taller man. Negan grinned, as if he had just got an A* on a test in college before leading the man into the restaurant. As they entered a host was stood in the doorway, looking overly happy at their arrival. Negan couldn't help note that they looked like a happily married couple on date night, how domestic. 

"I can make a swan with this, y'know, Grimes." Negan admitted proudly as he mapped out the napkin, starting to prepare the swan. Rick watched on over the menu he was flicking through, while the taller man aimlessly counted down the seconds in his head as he timed himself. "See, here's a gift, from me, to you-"

"Yeah, yeah." Rick replied, "I bet you do this with all your dates, sweet talk them until they see the real you. Huh? Why didn't i get this treatment on our blind date?" 

"Nah, you're the first person i've ever given a swan too, angel." He winked, half growling when the waiter came over and interrupted what Rick was about to say. Negan was pretty sure this was classed as flirting, he was no stranger to flirting- although his type of flirting was intending to pick somebody up in a bar- flirting with Rick had a total different effect on him. 

Rick had a pasta dish while Negan picked the meat, however at some point over eating their plates were swapped at least three times and the two meals seemed to be shared between the pair-  _Negan mentally noted how fuckin' domestic they were being._ Was this how Rick was with everyone? After the actions over diner, they both decided to share desert. Rick let Negan pick, although enforced that  _you can pick what you like as long as it doesn't have orange in it_ \- Negan learnt that night that Rick hates oranges and swore to himself he would never make anything with orange as an ingredient again.  _Not that Negan cooked._

Half way through the desert, the music in the restaurant was paused and a man knelt down on the ground of the place and proposed to his girlfriend while everyone watched on- apart from Negan. The older man spent the whole duration of the poor guys speech starring at Rick from across the dinner table, Rick was too focused on the happy couple across the room to notice Negan starring. He was smiling so much that Negan thought he was about to happy cry for them, which would have been evidently awful as the man has never really been able to comfort anyone before- unless it's Sophie. Rick was watching in awe which raised the insecurities in the back of Negan's head again, this would be what Rick wanted right? He was still young, maybe he would want to get married to someone, settle down and have a bunch of kids of their own. Then what happens to Negan? Does he revert to his old life of one night stands and alcohol and only see Sophie on weekends? The thought was enough to put him off finishing desert. 

Thankfully, his mind shut up the second Rick placed a hand over the top of his own and starred back at him with a warm smile. "Do you wanna head off?" 

He nodded, following the shorter man through the restaurant and placing a hefty tip in their waiters palm- making to do it while Rick was watching. They headed outside, the street lights were all switched on and there was nobody on the street for miles. Giving Negan the perfect opportunity to reach out and twist Rick towards him, who clumsily span around with a small chuckle- hands resting against Negan's chest once he gained stability. 

"Wanna do something fun?" Negan asked, half whisper. 

Rick's blue eyes widened slightly but nodded, agreeing wordlessly. 

"C'mon, i'll teach you to ride the light of my life-" they both paused and looked at each other, Rick butting in- "Is that supposed to be a sex joke?" 

"My bike, Rick, c'mon." For somebody who claimed to have a fear of motorbikes, it didn't take much convincing to get Rick sat on the bike himself and his hands white knuckling the handle bars. "Now you remember everything i told you-" 

rick replied with a simple "huh, huh-" before he was pressing down on the peddle. Negan should've expected this would happen- the second Rick's foot pressed down the bike was slipping from underneath him and Rick was stumbling backwards, ass on the curb while the bike skidded across the empty road and into the nearest tree. Negan starred longingly at the bike for a few moments, kinda how a kid would look the first time they realize Santa's not real before he turned towards Rick. The blue eyed man was clearly trying not to laugh as he faced the opposite direction, although what gave it away was the shaking of his shoulders.  _Fuckin hell._

"You're so lucky i like you, Grimes." And for someone who had just watched his beloved bike crash into a tree, Negan actually started laughing, getting up close to Rick who was officially in hysterics- eyes watering and everything. Negan just smiled harder as he watched Rick's reaction, reaching out and comfortably holding onto his waist as he did. 

"I'm so, so, lucky." Rick confirmed, glancing up and looking into Negan's eyes. "If you like me that much, you'll carry me home?" 

 

They both snuck through the front door, attempting to be as quiet as possible for two people who were almost choking on their own breathes due to laughter. Rick headed in first, automatically shutting up when he saw Sophie curled up in a ball in her travel cot fast asleep. His laughter turned into a look of admiration as he walked further into the room and smiled at the young babysitter who was sat on the couch, "I didn't want to wake her-" she informed them both, as Negan walked up beside Rick to glance down at the little girl-  _their little girl_ \- fast asleep. 

"Oh no, that's okay." Rick assured, "Thank you." 

The girl nodded before getting up to leave, Negan passed her the money. A little extra also in there. "Can i just say-" she blurted out as she stood in front of the front door, "You guys make a really cute couple-" and then she was gone and leaving Rick and Negan stood starring at each other. 

Rick smiled first, before adding- "C'mon, let's get her to bed-" and then Negan was reaching down and carefully picking up the toddler, smiling when she contently latched onto his shirt and fell into a deeper sleep. 

It didn't take long before Sophie was tucked up in her own bed, both men said their goodnights to her before they were closing the nursery door and meeting in the middle of the hallway. 

"I enjoyed tonight." Rick said, a small smile on his face as he avoided any eye contact. "You're not so bad, afterall." 

"Oh?" Negan chuckled, "Right back at ya." 

They were silent for a moment before Rick nodded towards his bedroom door which was the closet, "So... i guess i'll see you in the morning?" he turned around to head towards the door and Negan thought,  _fuck it_ , before he reached out and grabbed the mans hand. Rick looked shocked for a second before he allowed himself to be pulled into the mans grip and kissed the life out of. Rick's hands wrapped around the taller mans neck as he forced himself on his tip toes, while Negan half lifted the younger man towards Rick's room, kicking the door open,  _as quietly as he could_ \- and shutting it behind them. 

"You have no idea how long i've wanted to do this-" Negan grinned before he was pushing Rick down onto the bed, turning the photo of Daryl and Beth that sat on the bed side table around-  _because he wasn't going to make his best friends watch them have sex_ \- and pulling off his clothes. 

 

Just what he had been waiting for.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i miss u already rick :(((((


End file.
